Someone in the crowd threw a little red, white and blue ball on the court as players lined up for the final seconds of regulation.
It was a strange moment, and the ball bounced neatly to Philadelphia 76ers power forward Nerlens Noel, who picked it up...

After defeating the Philadelphia 76ers at Staples Center, the Lakers hit the road for four games through Week 22.
Coach Byron Scott chose to shuffle the Lakers' starting lineup, moving Jeremy Lin and Ryan Kelly to the team's first unit.
The Lakers...

The Lakers (19-51) are looking for their third win in four tries on Friday night when they visit the Toronto Raptors (42-30).
The Raptors have already clinched a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, but are hoping to climb from the fourth seed --...

Wesley Johnson was back, yet again, in the city where he was originally drafted with such high hopes.
The Minnesota Timberwolves took him with the fourth overall pick in 2010, and it's easy to find photos of a smiling Johnson on draft night, shaking...

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The Lakers (18-51) visit the Minnesota Timberwolves (16-54) on Wednesday night.
The Timberwolves are one of the three teams the Lakers are "chasing" for a better position in the NBA's draft lottery.
A loss would be a boon for the Lakers after their win on Sunday over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Minnesota played just seven players on Monday, but managed to beat the Jazz in Utah with a 106-104 overtime win.
The Wolves are even more injured than the Lakers. Kevin Martin (hamstring) and Justin Hamilton...

The Lakers (18-50) start a five-game road trip, starting with the Oklahoma City Thunder (40-30) on Tuesday night.
Both teams have struggled with injuries this season. The Thunder, typically one of the top contenders in the Western Conference, is fighting to hold onto the eighth playoff seed.
They'll play the Lakers without Kevin Durant (foot), Serge Ibaka (knee) and Nick Collison (knee), while Andre Roberson (ankle) is questionable.
For the Lakers, Nick Young is out with a knee injury while...

Coach Byron Scott said before the Lakers' game Sunday night that he's pushing his team to win every game, regardless of whatever impact that might have on their NBA draft position.
The Lakers ran away from the Philadelphia 76ers, 101-87, with a dominant fourth quarter, led by Jeremy Lin who scored a season-high 29 points with five rebounds and five assists in 28 minutes.
With the loss, the 76ers helped secure at least the third-worst record in the league while the Lakers finished the night in fourth-...

Like so many of the Lakers, Tarik Black is auditioning for a future job in the final few weeks of a stranded season.
The rookie forward-center had his fourth double-double of the season Thursday against the Utah Jazz, his latest attempt to persuade the Lakers to keep him. He has a nonguaranteed salary of about $850,000 next season.
Black plays hard, has shown toughness and makes a relatively small salary in a league in which the annual average is about $5.5 million. A no-brainer for the Lakers to...

The Utah Jazz overcame plenty of adversity to beat the Los Angeles Lakers, whose injury-placed season reached historic proportions.
Gordon Hayward scored 22 points, Trey Burke added 17 off the bench, and the Utah Jazz sent the Los Angeles Lakers to their 50th loss of the season, 80-73 on Thursday night.
The Lakers reached the 50-loss mark for the second straight season and only the fifth in the franchise's 67-year history. That compares to 32 seasons with 50 or more victories and 16 NBA championships....

The Lakers had beat the Jazz the last time the teams played, in Utah last month, which only seemed to inspire the Jazz to win nine of 11 games since that defeat.
So when the teams met Thursday night at Staples Center, the Lakers were unable to duplicate the feat in dropping an 80-73 game to the Jazz.
The Lakers lost their fourth consecutive game, scoring a season low in points in the process.
Tarik Black had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Wesley Johnson had 12 points, but the Lakers still dropped...